Piling jacket and method of protecting pilings



y 4, 1965 w. A. PLUMMER 3,181,300

FILING JACKET AND METHOD OF PROTECTING PILINGS Filed Oct. 31, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2a l Y L 22 i so 50 T "F 3" HIGH no] I 50 i so LOWTIDEZ s| u l2 5O 5O l2 BOTTOM 4 24 2| I 45 2| l I 25 FIG. I. 4

FIG. 2.

INVENTOR.

RNEY

May 4, 1965 w. A. PLUMMER 3,181,300 PILING JACKET AND METHOD OF PROTECTING PILINGS Filed Oct. 31, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V mvmm WALTER 'A. PLUMMER United States Patent 3,181,360 FILING JACKET AND METHGD 6F PROTECTING PILINGS Walter A. Plummer, 3546 Crownridge Drive, Sherman Qalrs, Calif. Filed Get. 31, 1960, Ser. No. 66,214 14 Claims. (Cl. 61-54) This invention relates to protective coverings for pilings and the like and more particularly to an improved jacketing and method of applying the same to pilings to protect them from attack by marine organisms and to prolong the life and serviceability of submerged structures of wood, metal, concrete, or the like.

The submerged supporting structures for wharves, fenders, docks and the like structures constructed along the shorelines have their service life shortened seriously due to many factors sought to be eliminated or minimized by the present invention. The problems arise from many sources and are present irrespective of the material from which the submerged structures are constructed including wood, metals, and reinforced concrete. Chemicals and impurities present in the Water contribute in major respects. Another major source of damage is plant and particularly marine life. Certain parasites and microorganisms are particularly harmful especially as respects submerged wooden members. Marine organisms known as lirnnoria and gribble are prevalent in shore waters and commonly infest submerged wooden structures seriously sapping the strength and life of the structures.

Eilorts heretofore made to safeguard against these hazards include various expedients including the impregnation of the structures and the coating of their surfaces with special preservatives and protective coatings with such materials as creosote, tar, impervious paint, and many others. These have been found to aiford considerable protection against certain hazards but are quite ineffective as respects others. Furthermore, these treatment mate rials are subject to leaching, scaling and the loss in various ways by the action of the constantly moving surrounding water, temperature changes, shock forces and the oft repeated application and relief of load forces. The salt and other constituents of sea water also contribute.

Metal protectors and structures are subject to attack by the oxygen contained in the water as Well as by salt and numerous chemicals. It is also well known that efforts to avoid these destructive factors by the use of concrete have been disappointing and far from successful since it is well established that concrete can deteriorate and lose its strength in submerged applications under shoreline conditions.

To alleviate the conditions discussed above expeditiously and economically, there is provided by the present invention a simple, one-piece flexible jacketing constructed and arranged for assembly in a tight fitting manner about existing submerged structuralrnembers and formed from a material highly resistant to attack and deterioration by ambient shoreline conditions. Preferably formed of soft, resilient, plastic material compounded to resist attack by salt water, marine life and chemicals present in shoreline Waters, the jacket includes separable seam means formed from the same or similar material as the main body and adapted to be closed in substantially a fluid-tight manner by techniques capable of practice under water. Of one-piece construction, the jacketing extends from a point below the soil line near the base of the piling to a point well above the high tide level.

To assure a snug fit and to accommodate the jacketing to changing configurations and sizes of piling, the jacketing may be wrapped spirally about the piling as its seam is closed, the pitch of the spiral Wrapping being such as to provide a close lit and to exclude slackness and as much water as possible from the interior of the jacketing. Following closure of the seam, the upper end of the jacket is closed against the iling and anchored thereto. In addition and importantly, soil at the base or" the jacketing is pressed in place to minimize exchange of water between the exterior and interior of the jacket. To provide still further protection, particularly from the bufieting of surface shore Waters and injury from floating debris and small craft, the inner jacketing may be embraced by a shorter length of a similar sleeve of the same material in the area extending to either side of low and high tide levels.

To facilitate speedy and proper assembly of the jacketing to the pilings there is provided as a feature of the invention a specially constructed slide fastener device conveniently applied astride the seam parts by a diver at the bottom of the jacketing and then pulled upwardly along the seam by a cable extending to a surface crew in a boat or on the docking or other structure.

Rollers and anti-friction means forming features of he closure device minimize frictional losses and assure smooth operation of the closure device which is removed at the end of the assembly operation and reused in the assembly of other jacket units to piling. If desired, a suitable chemical solvent may be applied to the interfitting parts of the seam immediately prior to mating the parts thereby sealing the seam parts permanently together.

Once assembled to the piling in the manner described, substantially all possibility of exchange of water between the interior and exterior of the jacketing is prevented. Accordingly, animal and vegetable life which may be present interiorly of the jackcting soon expires through the consumption of the limited oxygen initially present inside the jacketing. Thereafter, other life cannot develop for lack of any means for replenishing the oxygen supply. Similarly, leaching and loss of preservatives commonly present in the pilings is avoided and the piling surface is no longer subject to buffeting and washing by the constant movement of the ambient water.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new article of manufacture and technique for applying this article to submerged shoreline structures to protect and to prolong the service life thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a one-piece flexible jacketing provided with interlocking seam means extending longitudinally thereof and adapted to be assembled snugly about submerged structures and to be secured against displacement relative thereto.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a one-piece jacketing of impervious flexible material immune to attack by water, chemicals, and marine life customarily encountered in shore waters and tailored for application and anchorage to submerged structural members of various materials including wood, metal or concrete.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method of applying a protective sheath and jacket to underwater structures by crew members working in part submerged and in part above the water surface.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a protective sheath adapted to be attached to previously erected submerged structural members and including an inner layer extending from the ground surface to a point above areas normally wetted by surface waters and including as optional additional protector jacket closely embracing the inner jacket, particularly in areas between high and low tide levels.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon eading the following s ecification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawings to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawings in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a pair of typical piling members in place along the shoreline and each enclosed in differing modes by protective jacketing incorporating features of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of a submerged pile structure showing the jacketing in the process of being assembled thereto;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along line on FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View taken through the seam closure device taken along line 4i-4 on FIGURE 2; and

FIGURES 5 and 6 are transverse cross-sectional views taken along lines 5-S and 66, respectively, on URE 4 and showing the scam in different stages of being closed together.

Referring more particularly to FIGURES l to 3, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the protective jacketing incorporating the present invention and designated generally '10. This jacketing is preferably constructed in one unitary piece from sheet plastic having a thickness of to or more mils and compounded especially to withstand factors and conditions encountered in the operating environment and not subject to brittleness, cracking and deterioration when exposed to temperature extremes including direct exposure to hot sunlight and to subfreezing temperatures. Thermoplastic material abundantly fulfilling these requirements is commercially available on the open market and is soft, supple, and readily handled over a wide range of temperatures. Being thermoplastic, the material lends itself to the formation of joints and seams by heat fusion as well as by solvents and different bonding agents well known to this art.

facketing ltl is preferably manufactured from one-piece strips of the basic sheet material. To facilitate joining the opposite lateral edges of the body strip, identical strips 11 and T2 of slide fastener tape are heat sealed or otherwise strongly bonded to the edges of the main body. Slide fastener tapes II and 12 include a wide web portion bonded tothe edges of the main body as by the lapped joint 13 (FIGURE 5). The free edges of these tapes may be suitably formed with complementally shaped interlocking tongues and grooves interengageable with one another to form a fluid-tight seam extending from end to end of the jacket. The particular configuration of these tongues and grooves is not critical, the design shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 being one of several suitable forms as well as one which has met with wide commercial success. In this design the free edge of each tape is formed with a pair of identical hooks 14 facing one another and separated by grooves 15 of a configuration substantially identical with that of hooks 14. when rotated through an arc of 180 degrees. Accordingly, it will be apparent that the hooks of one tape fit into the grooves of the other in such manner that the two sets of hooks interlock to form a fluid-tight seam.

The jackets are formed to embrace snugly the piles or other submerged structure to be protected. Typically, the jackets are assembled about piles ZIP, 21]. having downwardly tapering bodies the small lower ends of which are driven into the soil of the shoreline. The exposed upper ends of the piles are connected by suitable crossmembers 22 and flooring 23 in accordance with known construction technique.

According to one mode of constructing jackets Til, these are tailored or formed from strips having non-parallel edges with the upper and lower ends dimensioned to embrace a pile of a given taper tightly and with substantially no slack between the jacketing and the pile. A." slack or loose fit is undesirable since the movement ,of the surrounding water causes continuous ilexure and abrasion of the jacketing against the piling and may lead to premature failure of the jacketing. Since normally encountered pilings vary in no material respects in the degree of taper, it is quite feasible to manufacture the jackets in a range of sizes, a selected one of which will fit a particular pile. Further variation is to be had by making the jackets of greater length than required and cutting excess material from one end or the other as necessary to assure a snug fit with a particular pile.

Another expedient readily accommodating 'piles' of varying tapers and sizes while assuring a snug lit in all cases is illustrated in the jacket applied to piling 21 in FIGURE 1. This jacket may be made from stripping having parallel opposite seamed edges and a width just sufficient to embrace the smaller end of pile 2f.

The lower end of this jacket is assembled to pile 21 beginning at a point just below the level of the shore bottom 24 following which the remainder of the jacket is progressively assembled to the pile in a spiral wrap of a pitch as necessary to obtain a snug fit. When using this method of applying the jacket, the seam along the lower section of the jacket will be straight and lie vertically along the pile. Any increase in the diameter of the pile at higher levels is accommodated by a spiral wrap of the required pitch angle. Accordingly, it will be apparent that the helical pitch of the seam will increase as the diameter of the pile increases. However, the normal taper of pilings is so gradual that the closed seam spirals the piling only slightly and not to an extent interfering objectionably with theclosing of the seam.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 to 6, here will be described a unique, simple, rugged closure device designated generally 25 and found most helpful in facilitating rapid and positive closure of the seam parts. As is best shown in FIGURE 5, closure device 25 has an elongated main frame best described as S-shaped in cross-section. This frame comprises a thin central strip'26 of rectangular cross-section to the opposite lateral edges of which there is secured by screws 29 a pair of channel-shaped strips 27, 28. One side flange 3d of each channel member 27, 28 is of lower height than the side flange thereby pro viding a narrow passage toreceivethe web portion of slide fastener tapes II and 12. The enlarged rectangular shaped interior cavity of the channel members is open at their oposite ends and loosely receive the tongue and groove portions 14 and I5 of the tapes and holds the tongues of one tape aligned with the receiving grooves of the other tape.

The lower side of channel member 28 is cut away and formed with depressions to receive and seat the pointed ends of a plurality of anti-friction needle rollers 33. ()nly the pointed ends of these rollers have any contact with member 28. Rollers 28 are distributed along substantially the full length of device 25 and serve to support the latter with a minimum of frictional resistance on the side wall of the piling as the jacket seam is snugly closed about the piling. As is best shown in FIGURE 4, the forward end of member 2 8 is provided with gently tapering surfaces to facilitate movement, of the device past obstructions which may be encountered during closure of the seam.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 6, it is pointed out that the trailing end of device 25 includes a pair of spool shaped seam closing rollers 36, 37, roller 36 being supported cross-wise of the rear end of member 28 and roller 37 being supported between the bifurcated ends of an L-shaped arm 38 pivotally supported by a pin 39 from channel member 27. A threaded stud 42 projecting from channel member 27 extends loosely through an elongated opening in arm 38 and is surrounded by a compression spring 43 bearing against arm 38. A thumb nut {id adjustable along stem 42 permits the operator to adjust the spring tension urging roller 37 toward roller 36. It is understood that the flanged rims of rollers 36 and 3'7 are positioned substantially opposite one another astride the interlocking tongues and grooves of the seam. The flanges prevent the rollers from becoming displaced from the thickened hook portion of the seam while the flat midportion of the spools cooperate to press the seam parts into firm and positive sealing engagement with one another.

Movement of the closure device along the seam is facilitated by a bail 45 attached to the pointed forward end of main body strip 26 and secured thereto as by set screws 46. The upper end of the bail has a pulling cable 47 attached thereto and normally having its other end secured to a winch or an anchorage point maintained on the dock structure or in a workmens service boat.

In the assembly of the described jacketing to submerged structure, the prepared jacketing is lowered into the water and a crew member in diving equipment descends into the water to the base of the pile to be jacketed. After clearing away several inches of the soil from the base of the pile, the diver places closure device 25 astride the two seam parts at the lower end of the jacket and pulls the device upwardly for a short distance along the jacketing. The diver then slides the jacket downwardly into the cleared away space below the soil level and applies a clamp if necessary to hold the jacket against lifting as another crewman above the water level pulls on cable 47 to run the closure along the seam as the device is supported in free rolling contact with the piling by needle bearings 33. If the jacketing is required to be applied in a slight spiral wrap to assure a snug fit, the diver assists in wrapping the jacket about the piling as the surface crewmen assist by pulling on cable 47 from points moving progressively about the circumference of the pile top. This progressive movement of the upper end of the hauling cable facilitates the smooth operation of the closure device along a spiral path occupied by the jacket seam when the jacket is assembled to the pulling by the spiral wrap mode.

Once the jacket is applied either with a straight seam or with the spiral assembly mode illustrated on pile 21, the closure device is removed from the top of the closed seam and an anchoring band 50 is applied to the top of the jacket at a point above or substantially even with the upper area of the pile surface normally wetted by wave action under high tide conditions, the clamp being secured firmly in place by the adjustable clamping means 51 (FIGURE 3).

Usually it is desirable to add a second and outer protective jacket 60 of the same construction and embracing the inner or main jacket it) in the area thereof between high and low tide levels. Jacketing 69 includes a seam 61 and this is closed and the jacket is applied to the piling in the same manner described above in connection with inner jacket 10. Once in place, the opposite ends.

of jacket 60 are anchored in place by the application of upper and lower clamping bandsStl. As will be recognized, jacket 60 cooperates with jacket 10 in providing additional cushioning and protection against injury to the main jacket by reason of contact with floating debris, water craft and the like.

While the particular piling jacket and method of protecting pilings herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. That method of jacketing submerged surfaces of tapering piling and the like with a protective layer of impervious flexible material to exclude marine organisms and to minimize leaching of protective chemicals with which the piling is impregnated said method comprising forming an elongated strip of sheet-like flexible plastic material having interlocking tongue and groove seamforming means along its opposite edges capable of relative movement lengthwise of said seam while the seam 6 is closed, applying a length of said jacket-forming strip to a pile to be protected in a Width no greater than the circumference of the pile at its smaller end, closing said seam forming means together said smaller end and progressively wrapping said strip spirally about the pile and closing said seal forming means along an acutely pitched spiral path as necessary to obtain a snug fit of said jacket with said pile from a point below ground level to a point above high tide.

2. That method defined in claim 1 characterized in application of a seam closing slide device astride the interlocking portions of said seam forming means at the lower end of said strip, holding the lower end of the assembled jacket stationary, and pulling said slide device upwardly from a pulling station above water level by the aid of a flexible line attached to said slide device.

3. A heavy duty slide fastener closure device adapted for use in assembling heavy duty tubular jacketing to cylindrical members, said device having an elongated rigid main body of S-shapc in cross-section and formed with superimposed shallow rectangular passages open at either end and each having one narrow slot opening therefrom along their remotely positioned lateral edges to receive the thin body of a strip having a slide fastener seam part extending along the edge thereof, a plurality of needle-like anti-friction rollers supported crosswise of the underside of said main body, seam closing means at the trailing end of said device including stilt spring-pressed means adapted to be arranged astride a pair of interlockable seam forming parts to be closed and effective to press the same together as the device is pulled lengthwise of a slide fastener seam forming parts of the type having an interfitting tongue and groove seam lock.

4. A slide fastener closure device as defined in claim 3 characterized in the provision of means at the advance end of said device and between said rectangular passages by which a pulling force can be applied thereto without objectionable tendency to twist or cant the device out of parallelism with the seam forming parts undergoing closure.

5. A slide device as defined in claim 3 characterized in the provision of manually adjustable means for varying the pressure applied by said spring pressed means to the seam forming parts.

6. A slide device as defined in claim 5 characterized in that said spring-pressed means includes a pair of spool shaped rollers adapted to straddle said seam forming parts and to be pressed against the opposite sides thereof to effect mating of the seam parts.

7. That improved method of protecting and prolonging the useful life and serviceability of conventional Wooden piling and the like along the seashore which comprises, encasing submerged portions of the piling to be protected with a thin flexible-walled tubular jacket of impervious plastic material immune to attack by sea water and having a flexible seam of interlocking nonmetallic tongue and groove components extending longitudinally from end-to-end thereof, assembling a closure device having a long pull line attached thereto astride the lower ends of the jacket seam to hold the seam closed about the piling adjacent the sea floor, using said pull line to progressively advance said seam closure device upwardly along the seam from a pulling station above the water level, removing said closure device from said jacketing after completing the closure of the jacket seam, and closing the upper and lower ends of said jacket to prevent the escape of water trapped between the pile and the jacket or the exchange of such water with other sea water.

8. That method defined in claim 7 characterized in the step of closing the jacket seam along a nonstraigh-t line extending in an arcuate path along and about the side of the piling such that said jacket fits said piling reasonably snugly throughout the jacketed length thereof not- 7 withstanding the greater diameter of the upper portion of conventional piling.

9. That method defined in claim 7 characterized in the steps of applying a second and shorter length of jacketing of flexible sheet plastic material immune to attack by sea water about the jacket first assembled to said piling with the opposite ends of said'second jacketing covering an area of the piling extendingbetween a level above high tide and a level below low tide, and securing said second jacketing snugly in place about said first-mentioned jacket thereby to protect the inner jacket from damage by contact with objects floating on the water.

10. That method of jacketin'g submerged surfaces of a plurality of previously installed conventional wooden piling with a protective layer of snug-fitting impervious flexible plastic material immune to attack by sea water to exclude marine organisms and to minimize leaching of protective chemicals impregnated in the piling, said method comprising wrapping an elongated strip of sheet-like flexible plastic material having interlocking tongue and groove seam-forming means along its lateral edges about submerged portions of a first piling from a level below the adjacent sea floor to a level above high tide, assembling a seam closure tool device astride said seam at the lower end'thereof, holding the lower end of said jacketing stationary while progressively closing said seam upwardly lengthwise along said first piling from a working station above water level, detaching said seam closure tool device from the closed upper end of said seam, closing the upper and lower ends of the assembled jacket about said piling to trap seawater therewithin, and proceeding rectly against the surface of the piling While advancing the same upwardly along the piling and utilizing guide 3 shoe means on the underside of said seam closing tool to guide the leading end thereof past obstructions on the piling in the path of advance.

12. A piling jacket assembly comprising a unitary onepiece strip jacket of impervious flexible plastic material immune to attack by sea water and having interfit ting seam-forming tongue and groove parts of plastic material along the opposite lateral edges thereof, said strip being long enough to enclose a pile from a point below the ground surface at the lower end of the pile and a point appreciably above'high tide level, a slide device adapted for use astride said seam forming parts and effective for forcing the same into interlocked closed and bearing thereagainst to force the seam parts together at the trailing end of said device, bail means at the opposite leading end of said device by which a pulling force can be applied thereto, means adapted toencircle the upper end of the assembled jacket and effective to clamp the same firmly against the pile above high tide level and being cooperable with mud and the like at the lower end of the jacket to hold water trapped inside the jacket.

13. The jacket assembly defined in claim 12 characterized in that said pulling bail is connected to said device transversely thereof and in a zone between the overlapped but open portion of the seam forming pants prior to their closure together thereby minimizing any tendency of the applied pulling force to cant or twist the device out of a plane parallel to the seam parts undergoing closure.

14. The jacket assembly defined in claim 13 characterized in that said jacket comprises the inner one of a pair of compactly assembled concentric jackets, comprising an inner jacket and a close fitting outer jacket of the same construction, said outerjacket being shorter than said inner jacket and of a length to encompass the inner jacket between high and low tide levels, and a pair of clamping devices adapted to embrace said outer jacket at its opposite ends and to clamp the same together with the juxtaposed inner jacket to the pile being protected.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,354,485 7/44 Slaughter 138-128 X 2,412,185 12/46 Weber 61-54 2,445,883 7/48 Katz et al. 138-128 2,620,535 12/52 Steiner 24-201 2,756,172 7/56 Kidd 174-72 2,791,096 5/57 Morton et al. 61-54 2,811,763 11/57 Jordan 24-205 2,841,851 7/58 Van Amburg et a1. 24-2051 2,867,877 1/59 Staller et a1. 24-201 2,874,548 2/59 Drushel et al. 61-54 3,027,610 4/62 Liddell 61-54 X JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner. 

1. THAT METHOD OF JACKETING SUBMERGED SURFACES OF TAPERING PILLING AND THE LIKE WITH A PROTECTIVE LAYER OF IMPREVIOUS FLEXIBLE MATERIAL TO EXCLUDE MARINE ORGANISMS AND TO MINIMIZE LEACHING OF PROTECTIVE CHAMICALS WITH WHICH THE PILING IS IMPREGNATED SAID METHOD COMPRISING FORMING AN ELONGATED STRIP OF SHEET-LIKE FLEXIBLE PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING INTERLOCKING TONGUE AND GROOVE SEAMFORMING MEANS ALONG ITS OPPOSITE EDGES CABABLE OF RELATIVE MOVEMENT LENGTHWISE OF SAID SEAM WHILE THE SEAM IS CLOSED, APPLYING A LENGTH OF SAID JACKET-FORMING STRIP TO A PILE TO BE PROTECTED IN A WIDTH NO GREATER THAN THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE PILE AT ITS SMALLER END, CLOSING SAID SEAM FORMING MEANS TOGETHER SAID SMALLER END AND PROGRESSIVELY WRAPPING SAID STRIP SPIRALLY ABOUT THE PILE AND CLOSING SAID SEAL FORMING MEANS ALONG AN ACUTELY PITCHED SPIRAL PATH AS NECESSARY TO OBTAIN A SNUG FIT OF SAID JACKET WITH SAID PILE FROM A POINT BELOW GROUND LEVEL TO A POINT ABOVE HIGH TIDE. 